


Negotiations

by RJLadyA



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Corporate lingo and snark, F/M, I Don't Even Know, Post Tresspasser, Psychological Torture, This was a dream ok?, Ugh, im in a mood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:40:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23786461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RJLadyA/pseuds/RJLadyA
Summary: Corporate supply lines are interrupted because of rifts. An enterprising small business owner takes it upon herself and staff to negotiate a hostile takeover of Thedas while the Dread Wolf works his own shit out. Maybe?Written on my phone.
Comments: 21
Kudos: 11





	1. Huh... well ok then

**Author's Note:**

> This was a dream I had after falling asleep while working on seriously people? I have no idea where my brain goes sometimes but damn do I miss it some days. Heels on hard flooring is one of my favorite sounds.  
> This is a dream that became crack fic! Be kind! I refuse to capitalize chavalier or venatori out of spite.

There is the sound of an alarm ringing. As I pick up my phone to turn it off, text messages start rolling in. I ignore them to continue getting dressed. This is important. More than any other corporate boardroom and I will not be unarmed. Almost ready, twisting my hair up into a loose bun, I finish pinning it into place. I can't help the purple pink color but it will at least look professional. I step into my black stiletto heels and pick up my suit jacket, and of course then my phone rings. Sighing I answer it.  
"Yes, Alex."

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, Alex. Is the team in place?"

"Waiting in the staging area." 

Shrugging on the jacket, I turn in front of a mirror making sure everything looks properly layered. Black pencil skirt that comes down to just above the knee, black blouse sleeveless, long-sleeved tailored jacket, fingertip length. Delicate necklace, triple moons.  
"Is the data live? I will not walk up to him with nothing."

"Aidan has it running smoothly. You trained him well. The engineers adore working with him." I walk over to the jewelry box slowly putting all ten, thin 2mm silver rings, while I talk. All of my small silver ball earrings are still in place, no need to change them. 

"He doesn't ever ask 'why not?' when they ask him if something will work. He just shrugs and works until it does or it dies. Thats why he has the job."  
No perfume, just rain scented body wash. I'll not risk offending a room full of elvhen by overpowering them with chemical scents.  
"I'm on my way now." The door locks behind me. 

I enter the primary staging area, a small room with five people all on laptops with headsets. There is an eluvian hanging against the main wall. A man stands up and looks at me.  
"All our people are through. We'll keep it active and monitor it, until you come back here or give the order."

"Thank you Mac." I turn as the voice from the other end of the phone walks in. My partner, Alex looks just as presentable, wearing a tailored black suit, with his shoulder length black hair pulled back into a ponytail, accessorized by a 9mm in a shoulder holster. Standing next to eachother, well, we look like headhunters or lawyers or just plain sharks in suits. Perfect.

He puts a Bluetooth earpiece in my ear and hands me a small locked box. It's about 8" square. Then picks up a briefcase.  
Mac speaks again, pointing to a display. "I'll be your lifeline here. Solas and his people are here. It's a small Castle on a mountaintop. Most of the mortal elves are there but it's guarded by elvhen. There's a mountain full of stairs, but you will have a ride." I smile at him. He's been with my company since first week. Grandfatherly to us but no one messes with Mac. We start walking.

Security people are gathered behind us. All wearing tactical gear and earpieces and overly armed. I hear over the earpiece. 

"Snipers are in place you have a go." 

We walk to the base of the steps and as the elvhen guards stop us, I address him.  
"I only wish a moment of his time."  
We wait for the ok to walk up the steps.  
The elvhen steps back and gestures that I can proceed. One of my security stays at the bottom of the steps.  
One scoops me up so I'm still upright but don't have to walk the stairs in heels. Every fifty yards a different security person stays on the steps transferring me to the next one, slowly leaving a trail of armed security behind us. It's calculated so that by the time we reach the top it is only Alex, myself and one guard.  
We get to the top and I'm placed back on my feet. An elvhen raises an eyebrow at us.  
Alex speaks.  
"It's rude to make a lady walk those steps in heels. Ruder still to make her wear common flats."

It strikes me as hilarious but I do not dare laugh.

There are more people up top than I thought.  
All of the elven servants that left Ferelden as well as the elvhen that survived Mythal's temple.  
We walk into the main room. I love the sound of heels on stone.  
There are arched windows on three sides.  
Solas stands in front of what would be his version of a throne of judgement.  
I hear "Stop." in my ear. "We have 270° view. Go no farther."  
We stop.  
Solas stands, much more intimidating in person.  
"You wished to speak to me? Yet, you enter with weapons and your military. I am unconvinced you are truly peaceful."  
I give him a customer service smile.  
"Oh this isn't military, this is private sector. Better paid and more loyal." I can feel Alex almost smile beside me on my left.

"I come to negotiate limited autonomy for the people of my world that have come through the rifts from Earth. I brought a gift for your time and binding legal documents of an agreement that our people will enforce."

"And if your people will not follow these binding words?"

"They will be stripped of their freedoms, their wealth and depending on the level of infraction they may be killed on sight."

He nods and gestures for me to continue but we are interrupted by a servant I recognize from Haven.

"You betray the Inquisitor!" And he runs towards me.  
He takes two steps, with a dagger drawn, before a sniper gets him.  
I glance over to Alex, as he offeres me his pocket square. I walk over to the elvhen guard that got splattered, offering it to him.  
The guard glances at Solas who nods and he takes it cleaning the spatter from his arm.

"My apologies for the mess."  
I apparently say that part in elvhen, judging by the looks everyone else gives me.  
The lone security guard with us picks up the corpse and passes it outside and down the line back to my people.  
He then retakes his spot behind us.

"What will you do with him?"

"His possessions will be looked through, his face will be catalogued as well as any identifying marks. Then he will be given the culturally appropriate funeral rites. We do not disrespect the dead, no matter how they were in life."

Solas almost smirks. I can see the thoughts going through his head.  
He sits, for the first time, in front of me on his throne. Elegantly, not that sprawl that most people with penises do naturally. Something about ball space.  
The dias is tiered with three steps, each approximately three feet wide.  
He gestures to someone who brings a small table and chair to set in front of him one step down. It gives him the upper hand visibly and physically.

"I offer this in exchange for my safety during these negotiations." I am still standing on my sniper approved spot, taking the box and turning it so I can open it to show off the contents without dropping it or having to set it down.  
I wait for him to gesture for me to proceed.  
When he does, I speak while opening it.

"An earth foci, filled with one months energy from nine hundred people, made from a stone formed in the pressure and heat of our planet's crust."

I open the box and I see a selenite orb, glowing softly. The energy rolls over the room, and I see the names of everyone who has reached out to me flit through my mind.  
His eyes widen a bit as a few whispers are heard.  
"Oh my heart."  
"He is terrifying."  
"If he only knew. Ugh!"  
"Not enough tea in the world for my nerves."  
The whispers fade into a hum, as I smile at him. 

"We are a passionate people." and I close the box. "I offer this freely, of my own will, made by my hands with permission of those that helped charge it."  
I pause waiting patiently, as he studies me.  
"Do we have an accord?"

He shakes his head if clearing it. Some of his elvhen look scandalized by, well everything. He speaks carefully.

"Your safety and care, during these negotiations from now until they are completed and an escort back to your people."

"No matter the outcome of the negotiations, my safety is assured. Yes."

"Your ... partner?" It's a question without a questioning tone and I almost roll my eyes.

"He can take care of himself. They all can or they wouldn't be worth having."

Then he actually smiles at me. Which shocks the hell out of me because I'm convinced I just missed something.  
I do not glance away from him because that would show weakness. Alex laughs softly beside me, completely amused.

"Then we have an agreement."

At that point I hear over the earpiece. "Stand down, go to monitoring stations. Ground pull back."  
I turn to the lone guard who executes a half bow and turns and leaves. I walk towards the closest archway and watch all of my security people walk down the stairs and leave, fading into the surrounding forest.  
I turn back, and walk towards Solas. I hand him the box. He places it beside him on a small table I didn't notice before.

"You should be getting messages soon, but there are things we will not let stand here."

His face closes off and he sits tall.

"Within one week every chavalier in Orlais will be dead. That is non-negotiable. The ones who flee will be hunted."  
I sit on the chair on the middle step.

"We will be offering people as personal guard and intelligence to Magister Pavus and his attempts to reform Tevinter. We wish your agents not to interfere with ours."

"In exchange for?"

"Minutae. Detailed information about people, movements, conversations and alliances.  
Whatever we find, we give copies to your people. Any artifacts recovered from venatori will be catalogued, scanned and handed over to you."

Alex opens the briefcase and takes out a stack of legal documents, placing them on my table. Solas then speaks.

"My people will be given the originals."  
I tilt my head to the side, pretending to ponder. We have scanners and 3d printers.  
"Agreed."  
I take a small breath.  
"Something else you should know. We have found Alistair Theirin and will be restoring his throne to him. His choice to give it up because he would not give up his elven mage wife should not be held against him."

"And the price for my non-interference in this?"

Alex hands me a slim laptop from the briefcase, which I open on the table in front of me. I open a wireframe rendering of the planet that we are on. There are moving numbers on the sides. I turn it to face Solas.  
"Live monitoring of the state of the veil. It is a decaying system and requires a delicate touch.  
Your people, you, can have this at all times. I will have a power supply given to you so this machine never turns off."

He waves a hand over the machine, and casts a spell.  
"There is no magic here." I smile. 

"None. " 

"Then how are you monitoring the veil?" I feel off guard for a second but answer, 

"Modified photovoltaic cells spread throughout the world and a team of people. A longer explanation will be provided with proof of its accuracy."

He looks at me as if studying a bug. "Yes it will." 

At that point I truly smile at him, not the corporate smile, the I am so enjoying this smile, sitting tall not using the back of the chair.

I close the laptop and hand it back to Alex, who slides it back into the briefcase.  
"Any questions so far?"

He sits back, pride and power in his body.  
"How many people have you brought with you?"

"Only my head office, one hundred people so far."

"And you wish to bring more as you see the need to."

"Yes." I gesture to the stack of paperwork. "This documents what I've said so far, plus details of messengers and runners. Runners bring objects too bulky for messengers."

"What do you plan on doing to with the qun?"

I sit back now using the chair back to support myself looking up at him.  
"That's a problem. We have plans to give all of Thedas children that survive what we consider a modern education, literature, math, science, biology." I gesture to the paperwork. "The outlines are there. For elven, human, dwarf, vashoth. But we don't know how to dismantle the qun. We, I, was hoping for your people's input as well as any vashoth you come across to make a plan. Oh" as an afterthought "We will leave the Dalish and the Avvar alone."

"I see and if I disagree?" I know where this is going, fine.

"Do you? I believed you were not a monster and wished most people to live in peace while they could. Was I incorrect in my assumption?"

He leans forward looking almost obviously amused. "You were not."

He continues. "It will take time to see if your plans come to the conclusion that you envision."

I nod. "Of course. The point is to plan for the future, in case both worlds are irreparably damaged."  
Out of the corner of my eye I can see Alex almost smile again, almost smug and I wonder, again, what I am missing, what he sees that I don't.  
He clears his throat and Solas and I turn to him. 

"Permission to allow a runner to bring up the power supply for the laptop." Solas nods. He speaks into his own earpiece. "Runner one, cleared, now."  
I hear over mine as well. "e.t.a. five minutes." We do not repeat it to Solas who nods because of elvhen hearing. We just assume he can hear everything so didn't bother to hide our communications.

Solas sits back and folds his hands "Your organization. How is it run? Do you speak for everyone?"

"I speak for the people I employ but I have specialized representatives for some jobs and a committee of people who look over their departments daily tasks. I cannot wrangle fifty excitable scientists and engineers hourly, plus another fifty paranoid security. I would never get anything done."  
He tilts his head at me curious.  
"The veil has created a closed system and it's decaying it's entropy is... fascinating."

"You understand what they are telling you, this information?" He gestures at the briefcase with the laptop.

"Yes and I can disseminate the information quickly."

"You have plans for local economy, your people's needs and disaster relief after the veil falls?"

"Of course." At this point an elvhen soldier brings forth a runner with a case and a duffle bag, who a little awed at his surroundings just places them down by my feet and starts staring at the mosaics on the walls.  
I open the hard case seeing a portable office power supply and an industrial solar charger with a full set of cables plus backups.  
"Perfect."  
I snap my fingers at the distracted runner to get his attention. "Thank you. Dismissed." He does that same half bow, turns on his heel and leaves.  
I turn my focus back to Solas.  
"We wish the veil to be sealed on Earth's side and you do what you will on this side. You do not need 7.5 billion angry humans storming this world. We consider this world to be medieval without modern conveniences, technology, education and medicine. Only a few want to visit, the people who want to live here are people who make and sell things by hand. Artisans of their crafts."

"Your people back on Earth?"

"Yes but not all of them, a handful, we did steal Morrigan's eluvien after she left and then walked it through the raw fade to earth. It is heavily guarded earthside and less than a dozen people know of its existance, our exit point is also guarded."

He looks floored and sits back, jaw clenching. "Your plans are elaborate and detailed. Cunning almost, yet you are open about them."

"I aim to please. Paranoia has its uses." At that point Alex barks out a laugh and excuses himself stepping back from the steps.  
I've completely forgotten we have an audience of elvhen and elves as well as everyone listening over the earpieces. My earpiece crackles as my partner is addressed.  
"Runner received safely. Sunset in thirty."

I glance out through the archway noticing that the sun has moved considerably in the sky. We have been there for a while now.  
I look at Solas. 

"I offer an alliance of minds and information. This world is worth saving in whatever form it becomes. We only wish to change what we find reprehensible and make your job easier in the long run to elevate your people who have been oppressed for too long without making everyone else want to form an uprising. We also wish to collect plant samples to send back to Earth to see if they can be cultivated there. Not enough to do any damage to your eco system. A dozen at most. Do we have an agreement?"

He looks at the stack of neatly printed papers. "Tentatively, upon inspection, yes."

I stand and offer him my hand. "Agreed. Thank you. It has been a pleasure."  
I go to take my hand back but he does not release it.  
I tilt my head to the side looking up at him curiously.  
He addresses my partner for the first time. "The second bag is everything she needs?"

He smirks at Solas.  
"Yes. Personal laptop, clothing, power supplies, personal supplies, and an unhealthy amount of loose tea."

"Wait, what?" I look between them both.

Alex addresses me.  
"When you asked us to vote on who would be our representative it came down to two people you and Aidan. Both of you built this business empire and both of you understand it's nuances. But he couldn't give a flying fuck about the minutiae and the cultural impact we will have on this world. So we picked the one of the two of you that would be more inticing for Solas to keep alive and nearby. Sweetening the deal, as it were."

He turns back to Solas  
"Her safety and needs guaranteed during this transitional time." and gestures to the box.  
Solas tucks my arm into his and nods

"Of course. She shall not want for anything while she is here."

"Except the ability to leave." I try to take my hand back, furious.  
My business partner, and best friend Alex, who has been with me for a decade, I introduced him to his wife! He looks at me, speaking kindly but firmly.  
"I will give my regards to your son. He will be checking in with you at noon daily with the reports from every department."  
At that point I can feel myself start to grieve. It rolls out and away from me staggering Solas and the elvhen nearby.  
He grasps my shoulders and shakes me, turning me towards him.  
"Look at me!" He forces my face up gently to meet his gaze.  
I know I walked into this by my careful phrasing and that's the part of the conversation that I missed. That I would be his agent while my people are on Thedas.  
His insurance that my people did as they were told and gave me as much information as they could find for him.

"Do you think that everyone else living in comfort does not apply to you? Do you think I would tear you from your child? I did not know."

I look up at him. His eyes glowing with the force of his words.  
"I don't know. My son can't live here there's nothing for him here. He can survive without me. That's the point of parenting isn't it? It's just a few years earlier than I'd planned. I wanted him to be of a legal majority not a minor."

At this point I grab ahold of Solas's arms to keep myself upright.

He turns that angry stare at Alex.

Who looks decidedly nonplussed.  
"We chose who was best for the job. She demanded someone who could look at all children regardless of race as worthy of care and love, with the mind of a scientist and an established businessperson."  
He looks at me, "You are rarer than you think my friend."  
He holds a hand up. "I will be at your desk and my wife and son will move into the apartment below your son.  
We will not take him from your home, he will be free and he will attend his classes with his classmate. My wife will make sure they both clean up."

"And eat healthy." I whisper at this point falling into Solas who has no choice but to hold me up in his arms.  
Alex nods.  
"We won't risk your son. You would bring down his wrath on all of us and damn both worlds." gesturing towards Solas.  
I sniff, trying not to cry and latch onto that statement.  
I stand up straight in Solas's arms wrapping them around my waist facing Alex. I speak clearly with all the force of a single mother making a vow with her entire soul.  
"I will."  
It resonates through the room, the depth and power ringing across the stones. "You break your word or allow any harm to come to my only living child through your actions, inaction or the actions of others, Fen'Harel ma halam."

He stands tall and bows properly. "Of course." Turns and leaves.  
I am left standing in Solas's arms as I watch him leave me in a strange world that I don't want to stay in, alone.  
I turn my head to speak to Solas, knocking my hair out of its bun. I can smell the cherry blossoms of my shampoo so clearly. The scent is soothing to my nerves but not quite enough to stop the physical shaking.  
"May I prevail upon your hospitality for a moment, before we continue?"  
He nods and steps back holding my arm in his and we turn to the bags left by the steps. I drop his arm and open it, digging for a metal tin about the size of my hand. Finding it I stand and close the bag.  
I open it, and inhale the scent of the tea, chocolate chai. I look up at Solas who is now again slightly amused.

"I would offer to share but not even this chocolate can hide the bitterness of the leaves."

"Oh wait...." I go into the bag again, this time retrieving a blue box with gold trim. "White hot chocolate" and drop it into his hands. "Now all we require is hot water and cups." I smile up at him, trying to calm myself and take a shaky breath. My emotional instability is not lost on him.  
He gestures to a guard  
"Take her things and all of the documents to the room next to mine. Ensure their safety."  
"Leave the foci." I pipe up. He looks at me oddly and nods to the guard.

He brings another chair to the table once its cleared and sits gesturing for me to do the same. Hot water in a teapot and mugs with spoons are brought to us. And so I serve him hot chocolate, tasting a spoonful first to insure the taste isn't too watery.  
I realize I look like a poison tester in front of his people and file it away for use later.  
I nod and hand him the cup, taking a metal steeping ball from the side of my tea and making my own drink.  
My earbud crackles and a voice speaks softly to me. "Mom, can I have the chicken you made for dinner?" I take a shaky breath and answer. "Make sure you eat some rice with it, but yes. Do you know what's going on?"  
"I watched the whole thing with security people commentary."  
I facepalm. I can't help it.  
Solas raises an eyebrow and I lean closer so i know he hears.  
"I have class tomorrow but they say I am going through the eluvians on Saturday. "  
Solas nods.  
"Do I have to stay?" I can hear the almost fear in my son's voice.  
"No. I wouldn't do that to you my son. I love you. You visiting will just help me, and then you can go home after lunch."  
"Ok bye."  
I throw the earbud across the room and put my head in my hands.  
We can hear a voice say "Checking out until 0600, security monitoring only."  
I nod. We hear a second voice reply, "Last sniper here. Confirm Visual assent. Pulling back now. Good luck ma'am. Mac is having words with Alex."

"Oh fuck you all."

I hear the earbud go silent.  
One of the elven seems startled by my disrespect to my own people.  
I look up at Solas who is now watching me warily.

"Niciteies only. for the rest of the evening. I am your guest after all. In the morning we will continue where we left off and I will answer every question you have. If I cannot answer I will pester my people until they find the answers for you. Agreed?"

He nods and gives me a slow smile.  
"I begin to see why they chose you."

"You didn't before?"

"I had some idea. While your mind is the biggest part of why you were chosen, your reactions to what is to come will be more telling."  
I tilt my head at him curiously.  
"Your partner... business partner?"  
I nod.  
"Alluded to the second that you were unaware of. I am reluctant to define it in case you decide to use it against me."  
I laugh. 

"I doubt that I am strong enough to use anything of mine against you. I am just me. A mother, a widow. Human. Nothing."

He raises an eyebrow and makes that disappointed sound. He speaks slowly as if explaining to a child who isn't really paying attention.  
"A visually appealing, emotional woman with life experience and a few hundred people that answer to her. Therefore fascinating."  
I choke on my tea.

"Wait, What do you think they were offering in me?"

He smiles and sips his hot chocolate.  
"Ma Falon'saota, potentially."  
My cup of tea drops from my hands as he smiles at me this time with teeth.  
I stand up and back away from the table, but knowing I have no place to go I decide I'm not letting this man get the upper hand in front of all of his people.

I pull the flopped bun out completely from the hair tie and let it cascade down, hair pins going everywhere, toe off my heels and walk over to him. I take the cup from his hand and put it on the table.  
"Oh you are way too old to deal with me." And drape myself across his lap. The last thing I hear is sound of him chuckling in my ear.


	2. Settling in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well ok then continuing.... as weird as this gets.

I hop off of his lap immediately and sit back on my chair. Quickly with long practice I twist my hair and tie it up again. Then, sitting tall as if nothing had happened in those ten seconds, sips my tea contentedly. He looks at me with one eyebrow raised and an almost smirk but joins and finishes his chocolate. 

After tea I stop and looks at him nervously. I look around the room at everyone I've ignored, the huge almost cavernous stone walls and back at him. 

"I am unsure of protocols. I would like to see where I am to stay and where I am allowed to be." He nods and stands prompting her to rise. I start to fall into step beside him, then move to walk behind him and stops.  
He gestures for me to walk ahead of him.  
"Walking behind me is a sign of subservience on earth?" He asks.

I nod. "Yes also where one of your guards would walk, along with a team in the front. But I realized here people still get stabbed in the back and became unsure."

He nods gesturing as they walk the halls. It's deep into the castle and up a few levels before they stop before two sets of large double doors. They open with his magic, onto a large apartment sized room with furniture that creates the sections, a large sitting room with bookshelves and desk, a chaise lounge. A large balcony with room for a small table and chairs on the left of the room and on the right about halfway down, a door, that opens to a bathing area with water closet, basin for handwashing and deep sunken tub that could fit 6 people easily.  
I walk back to him standing by the door and nod.  
"Who will my guards be?" I ask.  
He gestures to the two elvhen who followed them.  
They walk forward and then walk back.  
"Will they protect me from outside influences as well as internal attitudes about having a human woman here?"  
He nods. "They will," he replies.  
I sighs. "Let me guess, when I am not under your… direct supervision I am to remain here. Unless being transported to the stairs to meet my people."

He nods again.  
"At least it's a comfortable prison. Thank you, Fen'Harel. I expect you will explain to me how you wish to be addressed before it's necessary for me to do so in public."  
He smirks at me. "I will."  
I snort at him.  
"Goodnight then." And makes a shooing motion.  
He turns towards me  
"I will send someone to show you how the runes work. Until morning then," he states.  
The door closes and my earpiece crackles with a double tap. I walk to the balcony doors and exit onto it. 

The view from the mountaintop is stunning. There are no floors below me, no other balconies below, just bare rock. I looks up.  
There are three floors above. The two balconies staggered far enough apart that they can't be used to get to each other. The top floor looks almost like a landing pad for Griffons, half covered half open with a high stone railing.  
"Clever. If his rooms are indeed across from mine, he's hiding from assassins." I mutter softly to myself.

Double tap, affirmative.

"You have eyes on me."

Double tap.

"Exit strategy?"

Double tap.

"Wake up call?"

Double tap.

"Goodnight mac."

Grumpy reluctant laughter comes over my earpiece followed by a double tap.

I walk over to the assorted cases on the floor and open them.  
I places the veil laptop in its case on the desk, turn it on and set it to live monitoring. Tap my earpiece.  
"Apologies, I couldn't let this wait.  
Status, monitoring."

Mac's voice replies "I know. Status green."  
"I'm going to set up now then go to sleep."

"Good luck." He replies.

I laughs on the open channel "Thank you."

I place the backup power supply under the desk and connects the laptop to it. Then I take two tripods, solar chargers and sandbags to the balcony and set them up.  
"Angles people?"  
a different but known voice answers.  
"Left 30° tilt to 60°"

I sets it's tilt and rotate the base to match the coordinates given then place a sandbag on the tripod legs to keep it there. The process is repeated for the second one. Sets the two smaller laptop power supplies to charging and goes back inside closing the doors behind her.

That case emptied, I close it and store it under the desk, with the power supply bag. My desk is really just an ornate table probably for dining, up to six people but in this case it's my desk.

I take my personal laptop and place it onto the bed, along with my phone.

my e reader is left on the desk.  
I tap.  
"Can you update my e reader from here?"

"Sorry hun, gotta be at the base for that."

"Damn. Saturday don't let me forget."

"Your assistant is already curating selections."

I stop cold, a feeling of dread unfolding.  
"How did they take that I'm not coming back?"

Across the hall, he feels it hit her, a wave of dread so strong it takes the warmth from his body. He fade steps to her room, pulling the shadows to mask his presence.  
She is standing at the desk, staring down at it, talking. "...i'm not coming back?"  
He listens as a voice answers her.

"Well your assistants took it the worst, Melanie, tried to stab Alex with a letter opener. Cara accused him of trying to take the company out from under you. They both refused to let him take care of your son, Cara's daughter Bri, is moving into Elani's apartment below you. And her wife is going to take care of both houses." She takes a shuddering breath, "That's better, for Aidan and optics."

"They're bringing the dogs." She bursts out laughing, then starts to sob. But within a breath she chokes it back and clears her throat. 

"Only the people who knew where you were going before, know where you are now. No leaks." Mac continues.  
"Good. Keep ears out." She replies.  
"Not my first rodeo kid." He responds dryly.  
She laughs again, but it's pained and hurts to hear.  
She notices a piece of paper taped to her laptop. 

"Everything set for far audio communication test?"  
"Affirmative."

She picks up the paper and starts reading a series of words designed to test sibilance and tone, nonsensical in their own right, and a mix of languages.

"Tokyo science reports you loud and clear."  
"Arigato gosaimas, Konbanwa."  
She double taps her earpiece.  
"Over and out mac"  
"Roger. Try not to die over there."

She tosses the earpiece next to the laptop on the bed.

He steps back out of her room when she's not looking. She still feels the same, cold, dread, but her voice gave none of it away. He would have to keep his senses open around her more to decide how to proceed.  
~

I drag my duffle bag over towards the bathroom, removing glass bottles of toiletries and honey based soap. All handmade and ecofriendly. I place them in the bathroom.  
I sort my clothing and snicker when I finds a black lace silk camisol with matching robe, one of the "girls", my friends and allies since college now my highly valued department chairs, must have snuck them in there.  
I toss them onto the bed.  
There are the basics of a black mix and match corporate wardrobe. Skirts, slacks, short-sleeved shirts and jackets. Two pairs of boot heels, another deadly pair of stilettos, surprisingly there are two weekend clothes sets, long flowing cotton skirts with complementing tank tops and a pair of roman sandals. Nestled in with my underthings is my actual pyjamas, basically the same as the lace version but unadorned purple cotton.

Deciding for comfort i take the purple set and put the black away. I snicker as I see that one of my two definitely highly underpaid assistants has also supplied a full makeup and nail kit. After I have sorted my clothes into piles on the floor I stand holding a canvas shopping bag full of different types of tea. 

It hits me then, overwhelming gratitude and sadness and it brings me to my knees.

The door flies open and Solas strides in with the guards.  
"Enough!" He almost shouts, before catching sight of her on the floor. He kneels before me.  
"You must focus, breathe," he says calmly.  
You will attract demons through the wards that are set."  
I look confused up at him  
"But this is your domain." I replie.  
He chuckles,  
"It is until you offer them a meal they can't resist."  
That gets my attention. My mental walls slam up, cutting off everything.  
His eyes widen in shock.  
He feels nothing from her, it's as if she's removed her presence from existence.  
He stands up and offers me his hand.  
I take it and the bag of teas.  
He looks around at the table.  
"I see you have decided you will have no need of formal dining." I smile.  
"No. I need the room for work."  
He picks up a white box from the floor with a red flower on it and hands it to me. He watches her smile and open it. "Watercolor paints. My son must have..." She takes a breath and looks away.  
"How old is he?" He asks not unkindly.  
He keeps a hold of my hand.  
"Fourteen, but he's… you aren't considered an adult until you are eighteen. Our kids are in school from the age of five to eighteen. He's finishing early. He only has two years left." I wave her hand dismissively and drop his hand.  
I walk over to the chaise and drops the bag of tea on it.  
"I apologize for my unfortunate outburst. It will not happen again."  
He shakes his head in disbelief at me.  
"No one is asking you to not feel. Just not to project."  
nod. "I don't know how well that will work while I'm asleep but I can do this while I am awake."  
He watches her for a minute then turns towards the bed. He casts a glyph across it. It glitters in the air before dissipating.  
"This will ward your sleep. You can move freely through it."  
I nod. "Thank you. I apologize again I hadn't realized I could be felt here. I should have anticipated it. I will not make another mistake like that."  
He nods and exits her rooms leaving her guards. She looks at them and raises an eyebrow. "The runes in the bath, my lady." One speaks up.  
"Ah." She follows. A few moments later they both return. The other guard has moved towards the exit.  
"We will be outside if you require anything."  
She thinks for a minute.  
"A teapot? And cup?"  
He gives a friendly smile and exits, the other follows. On the way out he states  
"When you swore to bring down the wrath of Fen'Harel it rang in the stones." She smiles at his back.  
"Good. I meant it with every fiber of my being." He snorts.  
"We know. Good evening." She smiles a little reassured that someone here has a sense of humor.  
"To you as well."  
He stands in the doorway until the other brings back a rune activated teapot and mug. Then they both leave.  
She takes her time and enjoys the bath, with a cup of tea. Then extinguishing the lights wraps herself up in the furs and blankets provided and spends her first night sleeping on another world. Thankfully dreamless.  
~


	3. Settling into science

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 1 of living there  
> These are all of the things I want to know about thedas..... and more.

There is a chime next to my head.  
My phone? Here? I scramble to it, knocking a fur off of the bed.  
"Hello?" Nothing answers me. I stare at it confused for a moment and put it down.  
The sun has just risen and light slowly pours through the balcony doors, if I were a cat I know exactly where I'd be.  
Awake, still somehow tired, I decide to dress anyway. Black pantsuit, silver chain belt, leather boots.  
The teapot is easily filled, and warms the water while I take the time to braid my hair into a crown braid with a bun. The earpiece annoys me but I put it in anyway.  
Staring out at the light something occurs to me.  
"Hey mac, has anyone actually timed the day night cycle here?"  
A laugh comes across.  
"Not yet. That your first project?" He replies.  
"Yes. Can you have... nevermind I'll call."  
I open the laptop and sit at the table.  
I tap the meeting icon, and within seconds Melanie answers.  
"Oh thank God!" She almost yells. "Cara get in here!"  
The two women crowd the laptop screen and then the feed shifts, to a home security monitor. Aidan is cooking breakfast in the kitchen while Bri hovers. I watch as my son shoos the other woman out of the way. I can't hear them but it's comforting to see. After a few minutes I cut the feed switching back to the office.  
"Thank you." I tell them. It takes a moment but I manage to switch to office thinking.  
"I want to measure the day night cycle here to start with, then see if I can figure out these moons and their orbits. I want to get some whole plant, air, water and soil samples back to the labs and I need everything Hawking ever wrote and every physics publication around gravity, string theory, supersymmetry and m-theory from the last hundred years in order of publication. Oh and I want to measure the color temperature and radiation levels of the sun." The two women share a look.  
"That's all?" Cara asks.  
"For today I think." I reply.  
"Mac says toss your e reader off the balcony. Since you can't leave yet."  
I stand and open the balcony doors. With a flick of the wrist send it sailing in its leather case as far from the mountainside as I can.  
"Ok mac has it. Give us a few hours to get everything transferred. You want to do this old school also?"  
I smile and pick up my watercolors.  
"Sure, crystal prisms and suction cups. To start with."  
"Science has a list of requests but before I transfer you over." She takes a deep breath then continues in a rush. "Are you ok? Are you being treated well? Do you need more clothes?"  
I can't help but radiate fondness and care before I remember and clamp down on it.  
"It's early but so far so good. I'm worried but I will be careful."

He wonders who elicited that response from her, he leans against his door and extends his senses. The two guards stand alert and She speaks softly to people who aren't there with her. He pulls back and goes about his morning, still unsure as to how she fits into his plans.

It's noon when a confused guard walks up to him with a thin leather book. He takes it and opens it to find a machine inside with glass screen that requires a numeric code imput. He dismisses the guard and walks to her rooms. He knocks out of curtesy and enters to find her sitting at the table with machines working around her. She notices what he is carrying and stands with a smile.  
"I did not expect you to be the one to return it. Apologies if it caused you any inconvenience," she says softly.  
"I admit to a certain curiosity about your objects and how you got it to the base of the mountain without leaving." He responds. She laughs and it's bright like sunlight.  
"I threw it off the balcony," She says. "Would you like to see what it is?" She holds her hand out and he places it in her hand. She taps in a code while the screen faces him. Continued transparency. She shows him the collection of titles on the screen and taps it, it changes becoming printed text. Her fingers dance and the page turns. "Its a portable library. There is almost a thousand books and research papers here." She continues with a shrug. "It will hold me for a few days." He blinks at her.  
"So many." He says softly. She smiles but it's sad.  
"Not nearly close to every book I want to read though."  
"What is your world like?" He asks. She looks startled at the question as if she had forgotten.  
"Oh!" She picks up a small rectangle shaped object from the table, unlocks it with a code she does not let him see. She turns it to face him.  
"That's my son." Her finger slides across the screen.  
"My home. It will work for you too, it's a touch screen. This way forward, this way backwards." She places it delicately in his hands. He takes a few moments and scrolls through still images, sharper and clearer than any painting, of her world. The things she finds beautiful, people she cares for, flowers he's never seen, buildings impossibly tall and one taken from the sky hundreds of feet in the air.

"How... you have no magic." He whispers. She presses against his side to see what he is looking at. She taps the screen changing the picture to show an oblong shaped machine with wings and windows.  
"In that." He stares at it for longer than he would jave liked.  
"How primitive we are to you." Her hands cover his and remove the object from his nerveless fingers.  
"No." She shakes her head. He raises an eyebrow to her.  
"Okay yes but you as a civilization never asked the same questions we did. You still live within your planet's means not creating things for convienence at the cost of its ability to sustain life and had to try to fix it. You never wanted to go off planet where we never stopped wanting to go farther." He drops her hands.  
"Why are you here then? Do you want to overrun us?" She looks horrified.  
"I would never! I don't trust anyone other than my people not to destroy this place out of greed." He places a hand on her throat and extends his senses.  
"Are you lying to me?" She drops her arms and steps fully into his grip.  
"I will not risk your world to the greed of my own."  
All of his senses say she is being truthful. He tightens his hand on her throat. Her heart rate increases but she does not fight him, if anything she forces her body to relax until he is supporting her weight by his grip on her throat. He stares at her face holding her gaze until her earpiece makes a sound he recognizes as someone trying to get her attention. He releases her.  
She answers.  
"It's fine, stand down for the rest of the day." She tosses it onto the table. She walks over to the chaise lounge and sits pats the cushion next to her.  
"I believe now is as good a time as any to answer your questions," she says. He paces before her eventually sitting beside her.  
"I believe you are correct."


	4. Blood draw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kidlet and I both had our blood drawn for testing.  
> In honor of that.....  
> Cackles.

The conversation was exhausting. 

Explaining what we understood of our own universe, gravity, why planets are round, atmospheres and what they're made of, medical practices, what eco friendly products are and finally how I am my own scientific experiment. 

He had questions that he never really asked, just raised an eyebrow and waited for me to elaborate.  
I had to do the water bottle gravity thing, which ruined my water bottle, but I tossed it off the balcony and had it recycled into a planter back on earth. 

Explaining the fact that we use a cave for our staging area because we could protect the eluvian there was another amusing thing. Showing him was another thing entirely and I'm still not sure how that's going to go for us. 

Explaining my company and jobs are was less difficult. There were less words that needed to be explained.  
But there was a point where I thought he was going to kill one of my people, that was amusing.

It was well into the evening when one of the guards knocked.  
Entering the door was a person i thought i would not see for years. I leaped up off of the chair and hugged the woman with the white coat who had to place her case down to hug me back properly.  
"Hi Bri." I whisper.  
She looks over my shoulder at Solas, in full Fen'Harel outfit and almost doesn't let go but she does. Eventually.  
"Are we doing this in front of him?" She asks. I nod.  
She sighs and turns towards him.  
"My name is Bri and I am a doctor of internal medicine. I am here to check her vital signs, take measurements and see how living here changes her psyiology over time." He nods and says nothing, just sits like an emporer on my chaise lounge.  
She shoves me towards the balcony doors and presses me against a wall.  
"Heels back, shoulders straight." She makes a mark with a pencil, then I step away. She measures it with a laser light measuring tape and writes it in a notebook.  
She has me remove my jacket and listens to my heart and lungs. The stethoscope must have amplified it loud enough for him to hear because I could see his expression change. There's that fascinated look I am so fond of. Temperature check, blood ox level, nose and throat swabs, then she takes a tailoring measuring tape and measures me. I guess she wasn't going to bring a scale, considering we haven't figured out if gravity is the same yet it wouldn't quite work.  
If gravity was measurably different I think I would have had a panic attack right there.

She let's me sit back down on one of the two chairs at the table and takes the other.  
She opens the case, everything else had been in pockets, revealing half a dozen vials and vacutainer needle. She puts gloves on and wraps the rubber turniquet around my arm.  
"Make a fist." She says.  
As soon as she starts to tap my veins he is standing behind her furious.  
"Wait! This is normal. It's ok. No magic!"  
She waits while I speak, not turning to him at all. I hold his gaze for what feels like an eternity.  
He lets go of the magic and watches closely.  
I nod at Bri.  
She continues and cleans the site. Then pierces the vein. After the first vial is filled she swaps it for the next until all of them are filled. Then holding the needle where he can see it, breaks it off and puts it into a small red box in the case. She puts a piece of gauze on the site and I hold my arm for thirty seconds. She labels the vials and puts everything away, taking back my guaze and checking my arm.  
"Don't sleep on that arm tonight, I don't want to see a fading hematoma next week." She says as she pats my shoulder.

"I know. Not my first rodeo." I look at her and burst into laughter.

"You have been hanging around Mac for too long my friend." She grins back. We had ignored Solas as she worked but he still stood behind her. We stand together and face him. He takes my arm, his eyes glow as he looks at where the blood was drawn. For us mere mortals there is barely a visable sign, but he must have seen something more.  
"May I?" He asks. I tilt my head in confusion.  
"Vin." I reply. He almost smirks. I feel the cool tingle of magic on my arm.  
Bri's eyes widen a bit but she says nothing.  
"Thank you."  
He nods and steps back. Bri hasn't let go of her case.  
She takes a breath.  
"Studying her blood over time will establish what is happening with her body inside. If her organs stop working properly, or if she's allergic to food here. Speaking of." She reaches into a pocket and hands me an epi pen, then turns towards Solas.  
"If she has to use this, have one of her guards bodily pick her up and run her into the cave, don't let her die. It only takes moments." He nods.  
She hugs me with one arm, then starts walking to the door.

When the doors open, he motions to the guards.  
"Escort her back, allow no one to take that case from her." They nod, the older one walks with her. Then I am left alone with him. He turns towards me, looks at my arm. "Next time you will do that in your cave." I nod. Then he walks out through the open doors. The younger guard watches me as I put my hand over my heart and take shaky breath, grab a glass of water, then flop onto the chaise. He almost laughs and leaves closing the door behind him.


	5. Knock and tour

The sun had set while I read. My guards have poked their heads in at meal times, but aside from that they said nothing.

Bang! 

A loud something hit the other side of my door. In an instant my laptops were canted, cameras covering the room, and I flatten myself against the wall that holds the balcony doors.  
I listen hard while hiding my body in the shadows. Quickly angling one door to reflect the entrance of my suite. 

I don't know whether to call this room an apartment, quarters or chambers.  
I'm not in Orleas, a hotel or medieval England, so apartment it will be.  
Not the right thoughts for right now but I never did understand my brain.

The door opens and one of my guards enters, looking around. I do not move.  
Mind blank, breath even, wait, look, listen and remember.  
He walks towards the bathroom, opens the door and enters. A knife is slid into my hand from between the balcony doors.  
I recognize the weight of it.  
A combat knife.  
I wait.  
The guard looks confused, turns towards my bed and walks over, he pokes at the furs gently, then flips the top one off.  
A Shadow moves to my left on the balcony, plastering itself against the wall, out of my guard's view.  
The guard is extremely quiet and I have no idea what he's doing in here.  
I turn the knife slowly, holding it as I was taught.  
He turns towards my hiding space.  
I can tell when his eyes find me, when he sees the rather large serrated blade in my hand.  
He takes a step forward.  
I shift my feet into stance.  
My Shadow raises a gun to fire through the doors.  
Then everything goes dark.

"Stop."  
I do not move until I feel a familiar hand on my shoulder, a tac glove guiding me onto the balcony. I step backwards with my shadow.  
"You were sent to fetch her, not... this."

That is the voice of Fen'Harel, annoyed, angry, with just a hint of confusion. 

"I knocked but there was no answer."

Wait, that bang was supposed to be a knock? I grasp the wrist on my shoulder and take another step back. My Shadow whispers in my ear.  
"Over?" I nod and then we are falling over the balcony. We're free falling while attached to rock climbing cables, I recognize the sound. This was what we used to do for fun, training when we realized we really shouldn't be intimate.  
Halfway down the blindness spell dissipates or is released. The ropes catch us and we land in the greenery at the base of the mountain.  
My people are insane but I love them for it. Within a minute I am inside the cave we call base camp. Mac is doubled over laughing.  
"Wait! You knew he didn't mean me any harm?" He nods through laughter.  
I turn towards the man we dubbed Shadow and decide not to actually ask anything.  
"You went up just in case, and then... why not have a fall for fun... see if I've let myself go."  
He smiles, it's cold, dark and terrifying. That's when I know I'll be ok.  
"What if he follows me here?" I ask Mac.  
"We're prepared for a tour." He replies. Shadow ducks into the other room and brings out an insulated bag.  
I can smell the food, the spices, my whole body leans forward in anticipation.  
I sit at Mac's desk and motion towards Shadow. He cracks a grin and passes out covered bowls.  
As soon as I taste the first forkful, my earpiece crackles.  
"Wolf 10 seconds."  
There is a double knock on the doors we built into the cave entrance.  
I snicker because that's what a knock is supposed to be. Shadow stands, kisses the tip of my head like I'm a wayward child, takes his food and retreats through the eluvian, leaving the chair vacant.  
The door opens and two of my people escort Solas inside. I speak up.  
"See, that's what a knock is supposed to sound like. Not like someone's skull was bashed into my door."  
He looks around at what we've done to what used to be an ordinary cave.  
I kick the empty chair towards him, not putting my plate down.  
"Bri and my son have cooked food for us. Try some, it's delicious." Mac pulls another covered bowl from the bag.  
"You are meant to take this with you." He grumbles. I snicker.  
"But we're so much easier to deal with when the food is so good." I snap my fingers as I have a thought. The next bite I take, my mental walls are down.  
Solas's expression was so worth it. He collects himself and sits at the empty chair.  
"Before you try these, there is no animal in them, they're all vegetables and grains. I can't eat most animal."  
"Ah." He replies.  
"Yes that's why I've been ignoring most of the food that's brought to me. I didn't actually know how to tell whoever was making food for me that I appreciate the effort but no thank you."  
We watch him look around for a moment.  
At the dubious looking food that I was eating. I snicker.  
"This is mango chutney. It's fruit and spices." I offer it. He takes it and makes that suprised sound people make when something tastes much better than they thought it would. Mac watches him for signs of an allergic reaction, but after a few minutes we settle down to enjoy the food.  
"How many rooms have you built here?" Solas asks.  
"We walled off the front first and built back as we needed it. Security, the eluvian, monitoring station, an area for sleeping and bathing, prep room for taking samples back to Earth and storage for supplies." I answer.  
There is a slow rotation of the handful of people thedas side as they come in to get a bit of the food and rotate shifts or sneak a glance at the man in charge of it all.  
I ignore them for the most part but Solas watches and catalogues everyone. As soon as the food is finished, I stand and offer a hand to him. He takes it and stands with me. I tuck his arm in mine and lead him into the next room.  
"This is what we call a fifty cent tour…"


	6. 50 cent tour kind of

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Solas pov last chapter and continued.

Cold, calculated, death.  
He stepped through the walls and threw darkness over the room.

"Stop."

He expected them to stop.  
His guard well trained stopped in his tracks, almost stopped breathing.

"You were sent to fetch her, not... this."  
Anger rolls out of him in waves, he uses it to feel for her. She is unafraid standing beside a man who radiates death.

"I knocked but there was no answer."

He hears her take a step, a whispered word.  
Then she is up and over the railing, falling.  
He feels for her, but there is only calm.  
He waves the darkness away with a gesture, turning to the guard he had assigned to watch over her.

For a moment Solas is so infuriated at the stupidity this man has shown, he almost doesn't speak.

"You have slept too long, you are useless to me."  
He lifts his hand. The guard bows low.  
"I would learn Fen'Harel."  
Solas sighs.  
"There aren't enough of us left. Go. Walk, let none see you observe people and report what you've learned. You will be allowed back in a year."  
The guard picks hinself up and leaves. He turns to the other remaining guard.  
"Find one of her day guards to replace him. I will fetch her myself."  
The guard salutes.  
Solas gathers power and fade steps from the room to the top of the stairs. He allows her guard in the woods to see him standing above, then fade steps down.  
He hears the man speak.  
"Wolf 10 seconds."  
He resists the urge to snort. The man knocks twice behind him as he stands.  
He holds his weapon down, the other guard stands from the shadows in the entryway.  
They were almost as good as his people.  
Focused, watchful.  
"Sir. follow us please She is waiting inside."  
The guard gestures, the other watches their back.  
He nods and enters the cave.  
There is a wall from floor to ceiling made of metal about ten feet into the cave, completely hidden from the outside.  
The door opens as he approaches, two others exit taking the place of the two leading him inside.  
He sees her sitting on a chair by a desk with a few monitors and what can only be described as a grizzled old soldier.  
"See, that's what a knock is supposed to sound like. Not like someone's skull was bashed into my door."  
She smiles at him, still calm but wary.  
He looks around, the first thing he notices is the lack of dirt, the second is the metal walls, metal desk and metal chairs.  
She kicks a chair towards him, trying to set the tone.  
He feels her unasked _please_ with the gesture.

"Bri and my son have cooked food for us. Try some, it's delicious."  
The soldier pulls another covered bowl from the bag.  
"You are meant to take this with you." He grumbles. She laughs, it's bright but worried.  
"But we're so much easier to deal with when the food is so good." The food is golden lumps.  
He raises an eyebrow at her.  
She snap's her fingers and takes a bite.  
Pleasure, warm and almost orgasmic. It takes everything he has to close off her emotions quick enough for them not to affect him. He takes a breath and sits at the empty chair.  
"Before you try these, there is no animal in them, they're all vegetables and grains. I can't eat most animal."

"Ah." He replies.

"Yes that's why I've been ignoring most of the food that's brought to me. I didn't actually know how to tell whoever was making food for me that I appreciate the effort but no thank you."

He uses the surroundings as an excuse to not look at her.

"This is mango chutney. It's fruit and spices." 

He takes it and cannot help the spund he makes as the flavors burst on his tongue. Now he understands.

After a few minutes he decides to actually ask a question.  
"How many rooms have you built here?" Solas asks.  
She answers honestly, but he takes the time to memorize the faces and walks of the dozen people who come through.  
As soon as the food is finished, She stands and offers a hand to him. He takes it and stands with her.  
"This is what we call a fifty cent tour…"

It's much larger than he expected.  
As soon as they sealed the entrance they dug back and cleaned.  
None of the furniture is from Thedas. Even the metal feels different, it's processed some other way, and completely even.

The rooms themselves are utilitarian, it's the uses and the layout that fascinate him. The eluvian has a locked guarded door.  
She gestures and they open it, but they stand fully in his way. He raises an eyebrow at her.  
"You don't want to see my world. Trust me. We also don't know if it will make you ill. I'd rather not risk it."  
"Ah. This is one of the reasons why you let the doctor take your blood."  
She nods. They close the door.

"The man who would have ended my guard without a thought?"

She turns to face him.  
"He is earthside. I wouldn't keep him here while I sleep unless he's actively doing something. Gathering intel, guarding or has an objective. He is not someone I let be bored."  
He feels the _amusement-relief_ from her and takes a step back towards the entrance.  
The older man nods. Solas watches as she breaks from his grasp and gives the man a hug. He suffers it but feels like  
_affection-protection_.  
He nods to the man when she lets go and returns to his side.  
They exit in silence and walk the steps at her pace. None of her people follow but he can feel them watch.  
It is important for his people to see she comes of her own free will and her own power. 

She stops at the top of the stairs and turns to look at the sky. He can feel the virtego hit her and pulls her against him before she falls head first down the steps.  
"Two moons." She whispers a little shakily.

"Come inside then." She grasps his arm and holds it against her tightly as if she fears falling still.

"Yes." She says.

He tucks her against his side and walks her back through the halls to her room.  
She notices the guard change.

"Is the other one still alive?" She asks.

"Yes. I found a different job for him."  
She breathes a sigh of relief, that suprises him.

"Thank you."  
The guards open her door and she walks inside.

"Sleep well." She calls and shuts the door.

It's not until he enters his own chambers that he remembers he never did have the conversation with her that he meant to have when this all started.


	7. Shadow hunts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sending my Shadow out hunting.

The balcony calls me today.  
I stand on it still in my sleep clothes.  
I tap my earpiece.  
"Do we have eyes in Orleas?"  
"We do." Mac responds.  
"Do we have our targets?"  
"Yes." Mac states.  
"Give me Shadow." I whisper.  
"Are you sure?" Mac asks.  
"We pay him enough and he is a man of discernable tastes. He won't want to stay once he's done." I reply.  
"Alright. Give him travel time." Mac replies.  
I chuckle and go draw myself a bath to have a long soak.  
I pick lavender and honey soap. Soothing and gentle scents, to remind the predator I just called that today I am not his prey.  
Someone enters with food and I respond that I am in the bath. It's technically the weekend and this bath is almost big enough to swim in.  
I close my eyes and soak, the warmth of the water soothing my nerves.  
A gloved hand covers my mouth, while the other holds my head.  
I smile, and lick his hand. His laughter is low and echoes off the walls.  
I open my eyes to see exactly who I expected to see, Shadow, crouched over me. He is as sexy as he is deadly.  
Dark eyes, dark hair, and very, very strong.  
The setting I chose was purposeful.  
No one here will bother me in the bath, and I am completely at his mercy.  
He dunks my head under the water, and let's go.  
I make no move to get out, just turn towards him.  
"I have many targets for you." I whisper.  
He smiles at me, perfect teeth gleaming.  
He flicks a lock of wet hair off of my shoulder, stands and holds out a towel. I step into it, into his hands. It's a dance between us, one we both know well.  
He tucks me into the towel, wrings my hair out over the tub. Then takes another towel and gently starts drying my hair.  
We walk together into the main room, connected by his grip on my hair. The mirror catches our reflection as we walk by. A tall man in black tactical gear following an almost naked woman with my hair wrapped around his hand. I cannot get free even if I desired to. We look like a study in opposites.  
I walk towards my bed but stop short of it.  
An outfit is laid out for me and I know it's his doing. A golden tan blouse, with off the shoulder cap sleeves, a floor length multicolored skirt, and natural leather sandals. Clothing I didn't bring with me, designed to make me look soft and delicate.  
"Really?" I ask.  
He finishes towel drying my hair and braids it tightly in sections.  
He leans in, eyes flicking around the room. Whatever he was going to say he doesn't instead he speaks softly.  
"You are meeting your son today." I roll my eyes at him.  
"Dossier on the table."  
He walks away from me and I take the chance to get dressed. I do not hide myself from his view but I do not take my time either. We both appreciate efficiency.  
I sit with my back to the fire to dry my hair.  
He scoops the tray of food also on the table and brings it and the folder back to me. I offer him a piece of the bread, he declines but gestures for me to eat. It's simple, domestic almost, and a complete lie.  
The dossier contains a map, a list of names, contacts and known locations. He grins and points to the last term.  
Et al.  
I smile at him and lean forward, impressing my intent into my eyes and tone.  
"I want you to have fun but I want them all."  
My hair is dry by this point so I start unbraiding it leaving it to hang in waves down my back. He puts the dossier onto my bed and stands gesturing me to lean forward. He takes a bit of my hair and makes a single braid on the right side of my head to keep the strands out of my face. The rest is like a soft curtain. He runs his fingers through my hair and wraps his arms around me.  
"You give me the loveliest jobs. Would you like trophies?" I shudder in revulsion but it only makes him grin wider, because he felt it. I place my hand against the side of his face, and smile.  
"You know what I want." He leans in and kisses my forehead.  
"Happy hunting my little lamb." He breathes by my ear then releases me. In a second he's over the balcony railing and gone, the dossier with him.  
I'm left shaking and clutching my stomach as I catch my breath.  
I know that that could have gone horribly wrong and I could be dead in the bath instead. My hands are shaking too much to pick up my teacup. But then his words sink in.  
The clothing, the hair,   
he thinks I'm going to hunt the dread wolf and wanted to give the man something pretty and soft to sink his  
_ahem_  
teeth into.  
I burst out laughing and drink my tea.  
Men.  
Whatever.  
I have lunch with a kidlet and it's going to be fabulous!  
And tomorrow every chevalier will be dead.


	8. Mochi

I decided to leave my teacup behind, if my son didn't bring fresh tea with lunch then he was _no longer my_ child. Disowned! I am excited to see him after a week away. It feels longer because I had no real say. Not if I wanted the deal.  
I wonder though if he would have stopped me from leaving. I don't think so but I wasn't testing him today.  
I stepped into this cage and I was going to make it work.  
The clothing and hair made me feel soft, and free. I have to agree that Shadow knew how to help me set my mind. As I walked out of my room my guards took up positions behind and in front of me, escorting me down the halls and to the top of the steps down. One of my guards meets me at the top of the steps in Thedas appropriate clothing just in case. We walk arm in arm down the stairs just looking at all of them gives me vertigo. A few steps down, I stumble but my guard wraps a steel strong arm around my waist and escorts me down without blinking.  
"I've got you. It'll be fine." He whispers in my ear. I fight the urge to laugh, telling someone it's fine is the quickest way to make sure the universe screws it up but we make it down the stairs without further incident.  
I look back up and wave at my guards, a few feet behind them lurks Solas, with a closed off expression. Reminding me that this is a test. I smile and bow, turning away.  
We walk across the lush grass to the cave and disappear inside. I couldn't expose my child to the new atmosphere of thedas and expect him to survive it so I went through the eluvian, sat in a clean room and was a worried mother for an hour. I made sure to bring back mochi for the Dread Wolf and all of my guards. 

Hmmm maybe shouldn't have had him try the green tea ones first. The strawberry ones were appreciated though.


	9. Mind games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bye anora

It started with little things.  
Replacing servants with ones who had great control with magic, "fine motor control" she called it.  
Then adding a forger, an alchemist, an engineer, and a handful of rogues.

The first week everything she touched would be moved to the left three inches as soon as she looked away.

The second week those same things would be moved to the right, with the addition of taking the seams in on every one of her gowns, just enough to make them uncomfortable.

The third week her staff helpfully changed her diet and added an early morning exercide routine to lose the "minor weight gain" and her shoes stopped fitting. 

The fourth week they started swapping out her correspondence for ill worded replies in her hand. Sand made its way into her bedsheets.

The fifth week they changed the food, adding something called capsaicin slowly to everything. When the servants tasted her food they told her it was fine and they tasted nothing. 

The sixth week the whispers in the walls started any time she was alone.

The seventh week she was so tired she accidentally set her hair on fire, which was immediately taken advantage of. The resulting style was not well done. She became allergic to her makeup.

The eighth week she fired all of her servants and called for new ones, who found no fault with the perfectly prepared food, a person to fix her hair and would resize her gowns to fit. They salted her water. Added a natural acid to her baths.

The ninth week she kept seeing the Hero in crowds. Sometimes right in front of her and sometimes two or more at a time. Once she saw two of them engaged in friendly conversation over a scarf design. She tried to set fire to the alienage but they had been relocated during the fourth week. It was empty. 

The tenth week the Bann's and Arl's holdings were systematically raided for supplies and were invited to a celebration in her name, that she knew nothing about. The dinner was flawless. They were shown secretly that she had stockpiled or destroyed their goods by helpful servants. In reality only the containers were destroyed.  
The goods were stored off site or returned in the true king's name. The people weren't actually going to starve. 

The eleventh week the music started that no one else could hear.

Anora didn't last to the twelfth week. 

The twelfth week saw her shaking hands with King Alistar on the edge of Denerim, and offering a hug to his wife while taking samples for a microbiologist to study their blood. 

She didn't stop smiling for a week after she returned.  
It was cruel and satisfied and terrifying.


End file.
